I heard an interesting but I believe true statement yesterday from one of my favorite pastors Johnny Hunt. Gave me something to think about. Here is the quote:
"We have many compromising churches today because we don't want to be treated like Christ!"
Wow take a moment to think about this. The only way the church can be compromising is if its members are compromising! The ask yourself...do I really want to be treated like Jesus? Our first thought may be well no I don't. Who would? I understand that thought myself but lets look at what Jesus told His followers:
John 15:18-25
The World’s Hatred
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’
Jesus makes some things very clear to us. First, the world will hate us because it hated Him. Second, we are not to be of this world. Third, they persecuted Jesus and if we are following like we should be the world will persecute us also. Why did the world hate Jesus because He showed them their sin. Why will the world hate us because we are to show them their sin but also show they a way out of their sin. Most do not like when you point out their sin...remember we have to do this in a loving way. It is not judging but teaching what the Word of God says.
So we must end with this tough question for ourselves....am I compromising? Do I desire the worlds friendship more than following and obeying my Lord? I don't know about you but I must admit this kinda stings when I think about it. I can and must do better. Time for me to do a little praying!
Tom
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Free from Sacrificial law!
I have been reading in Leviticus and it has reminded me of how thankful I am that Jesus has freed us from the Sacrificial laws! I tried to find a fairly short chapter for an example so here it is:
Leviticus 15
The Law Concerning Bodily Discharges
15 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. 3 And this shall be his uncleanness in regard to his discharge—whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is stopped up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness. 4 Every bed is unclean on which he who has the discharge lies, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. 5 And whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 6 He who sits on anything on which he who has the discharge sat shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 7 And he who touches the body of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 8 If he who has the discharge spits on him who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 9 Any saddle on which he who has the discharge rides shall be unclean. 10 Whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until evening. He who carries any of those things shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 11 And whomever the one who has the discharge touches, and has not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 12 The vessel of earth that he who has the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
13 ‘And when he who has a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in running water; then he shall be clean. 14 On the eighth day he shall take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and come before the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and give them to the priest. 15 Then the priest shall offer them, the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord because of his discharge.
16 ‘If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean until evening. 17 And any garment and any leather on which there is semen, it shall be washed with water, and be unclean until evening. 18 Also, when a woman lies with a man, and there is an emission of semen, they shall bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.
19 ‘If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. 20 Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean. 21 Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 22 And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 23 If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. 24 And if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.
25 ‘If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. 26 Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity. 27 Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.
28 ‘But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29 And on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 30 Then the priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for the discharge of her uncleanness.
31 ‘Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness when they defile My tabernacle that is among them. 32 This is the law for one who has a discharge, and for him who emits semen and is unclean thereby, 33 and for her who is indisposed because of her customary impurity, and for one who has a discharge, either man or woman, and for him who lies with her who is unclean.’”
Can you imagine trying to keep up with the what to dos and the what not to do??? Then there are the requirements of the sacrifices. All had to be kept perfectly. That is until Jesus settled it all on the cross and became the ultimate sacrifice once and for all! He also gave us direct access to the Father! No more having to go through the Priest!
So today I am praising Jesus for the release of us from the sacrificial system, oh how thankful I am this morning!
Tom
Leviticus 15
The Law Concerning Bodily Discharges
15 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. 3 And this shall be his uncleanness in regard to his discharge—whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is stopped up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness. 4 Every bed is unclean on which he who has the discharge lies, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. 5 And whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 6 He who sits on anything on which he who has the discharge sat shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 7 And he who touches the body of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 8 If he who has the discharge spits on him who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 9 Any saddle on which he who has the discharge rides shall be unclean. 10 Whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until evening. He who carries any of those things shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 11 And whomever the one who has the discharge touches, and has not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 12 The vessel of earth that he who has the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
13 ‘And when he who has a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in running water; then he shall be clean. 14 On the eighth day he shall take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and come before the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and give them to the priest. 15 Then the priest shall offer them, the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord because of his discharge.
16 ‘If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean until evening. 17 And any garment and any leather on which there is semen, it shall be washed with water, and be unclean until evening. 18 Also, when a woman lies with a man, and there is an emission of semen, they shall bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.
19 ‘If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. 20 Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean. 21 Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 22 And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 23 If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. 24 And if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.
25 ‘If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. 26 Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity. 27 Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.
28 ‘But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29 And on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 30 Then the priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for the discharge of her uncleanness.
31 ‘Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness when they defile My tabernacle that is among them. 32 This is the law for one who has a discharge, and for him who emits semen and is unclean thereby, 33 and for her who is indisposed because of her customary impurity, and for one who has a discharge, either man or woman, and for him who lies with her who is unclean.’”
Can you imagine trying to keep up with the what to dos and the what not to do??? Then there are the requirements of the sacrifices. All had to be kept perfectly. That is until Jesus settled it all on the cross and became the ultimate sacrifice once and for all! He also gave us direct access to the Father! No more having to go through the Priest!
So today I am praising Jesus for the release of us from the sacrificial system, oh how thankful I am this morning!
Tom
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Sin has cost to earth.
This could be a very deep subject but I will try to make it very simple and clear. Two times in the first four chapters of the Bible we see that man's sin has consequences not only for himself but also to the earth and it's ground bearing food. Look at these two verses:
Genesis 4:11-12
11 So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”
Genesis 3:17-19
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”
Now the first verses are when Cain slew Abel. The second set of verses are from Adam following Eve into sin. Both make it very clear that sin had an effect on the ground and its production. Now fast forward thousands of years and consider the sin that has taken place in that period of time. I am a firm believer we are reaping what we sow as a nation and as individuals. Think about our crops and how they have been hurt in recent years by floods, drought, and other things. How much cancer and sickness has been caused by pesticides that we put on our crops to control bugs and weeds. Think about our waters systems and how man has polluted them.
Now how much of this is caused by sin? You be the judge. I believe that is why God will create a New Heaven and a new Earth as we are told in book of Revelation. Mankind and the curse of sin had hurt this old earth of ours!
Take some time to think about this today!
Tom
Genesis 4:11-12
11 So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”
Genesis 3:17-19
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”
Now the first verses are when Cain slew Abel. The second set of verses are from Adam following Eve into sin. Both make it very clear that sin had an effect on the ground and its production. Now fast forward thousands of years and consider the sin that has taken place in that period of time. I am a firm believer we are reaping what we sow as a nation and as individuals. Think about our crops and how they have been hurt in recent years by floods, drought, and other things. How much cancer and sickness has been caused by pesticides that we put on our crops to control bugs and weeds. Think about our waters systems and how man has polluted them.
Now how much of this is caused by sin? You be the judge. I believe that is why God will create a New Heaven and a new Earth as we are told in book of Revelation. Mankind and the curse of sin had hurt this old earth of ours!
Take some time to think about this today!
Tom
Monday, March 19, 2012
Dangerous religion!
Dangerous religion!
My Pastor yesterday said a great quote that made me do some thinking: "the greatest false religion today is not Islam, Hinduism, ect, It is me!"
Take a little time and think about that. Selfishness can really harm out walk with God. Look at what it did to Cain:
Genesis 4:1-10
Cain Murders Abel
4 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”
He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
Why was Cains sacrifice not good enough for God? Because it was not his best, not his first fruits! Cain was selfish and kept the best for himself instead of giving to God. Now before we jump all over Cain we better look at our own lives. Do we give our best to God? Time, money, love, service, ect.? If we are not we are much like Cain...selfish! Then we see instead of taking responsibility and confessing sin to God Cain gets mad, kills his brother, and gives God an attitude! "Am I my brothers keeper?" The selfishness would have been so easy to fix...ask forgiveness from God, sacrifice the first fruits to God, and do right going forward. But this self religion had a hold of Cain and he did not want to let it go.
So this morning may we all examine our own lives and make sure self religion don't have a hold on us!
Tom
My Pastor yesterday said a great quote that made me do some thinking: "the greatest false religion today is not Islam, Hinduism, ect, It is me!"
Take a little time and think about that. Selfishness can really harm out walk with God. Look at what it did to Cain:
Genesis 4:1-10
Cain Murders Abel
4 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”
He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
Why was Cains sacrifice not good enough for God? Because it was not his best, not his first fruits! Cain was selfish and kept the best for himself instead of giving to God. Now before we jump all over Cain we better look at our own lives. Do we give our best to God? Time, money, love, service, ect.? If we are not we are much like Cain...selfish! Then we see instead of taking responsibility and confessing sin to God Cain gets mad, kills his brother, and gives God an attitude! "Am I my brothers keeper?" The selfishness would have been so easy to fix...ask forgiveness from God, sacrifice the first fruits to God, and do right going forward. But this self religion had a hold of Cain and he did not want to let it go.
So this morning may we all examine our own lives and make sure self religion don't have a hold on us!
Tom
Friday, March 16, 2012
March Madness!
Well yesterday kicked of March Madness. The time of year when all college basketball fans get their brackets all filled out and cheer their teams on with great intensity! I must say I am a part of this. It is also the time of year when the weather is getting nice and folks start to get outside and work their gardens or get out on the lake to fish or get in the woods to turkey hunt. This is me too! What ever your passions in life may be we must keep everything in check and make sure we hold them in the right perspective. Look at this verse:
Exodus 34:14
(for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),
Our God desires our worship. We can allow other things to become our god if we are not very careful. When we get so involved in something that it takes our time that we should be using in prayer, bible study, and worship we then have made that thing our god! It is very easy to do trust me! God wants to be #1 in our lives and He deserves to be #1 in our lives!
As this verse above says He is a jealous God, so let us not make Him jealous!
Tom
Exodus 34:14
(for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),
Our God desires our worship. We can allow other things to become our god if we are not very careful. When we get so involved in something that it takes our time that we should be using in prayer, bible study, and worship we then have made that thing our god! It is very easy to do trust me! God wants to be #1 in our lives and He deserves to be #1 in our lives!
As this verse above says He is a jealous God, so let us not make Him jealous!
Tom
Thursday, March 15, 2012
As the Lord commanded!
Leviticus 8:4
4 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
I have been reading in the book of Leviticus. In chapter 8 which I read yesterday we see the consecration(set aside for God's service) of Aaron and his sons for the priesthood. The consecration ceremony was done by Moses. What read jumped out to me was this statement "as the Lord commanded". I counted 8 times this is said of Moses in this chapter. So it brought to mind this thought.....do I do what the Lord commands me? It is a question we all need to ask ourselves. Some may ask well what does the Lord command of me? Well the Bible is full of commandments, this is why we must be in the Word daily. So many folks feel the Bible is a book of God just telling us what to do, but that is not the right outlook for us to have. In reality God does give us commandments but it is for our own good. He knows what will make us the most fullfilled in life and that is why He gives us the commandments, because He loves us!
So this morning think about your obedience to God, are you being like Moses and doing as the Lord commands?
Tom
4 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
I have been reading in the book of Leviticus. In chapter 8 which I read yesterday we see the consecration(set aside for God's service) of Aaron and his sons for the priesthood. The consecration ceremony was done by Moses. What read jumped out to me was this statement "as the Lord commanded". I counted 8 times this is said of Moses in this chapter. So it brought to mind this thought.....do I do what the Lord commands me? It is a question we all need to ask ourselves. Some may ask well what does the Lord command of me? Well the Bible is full of commandments, this is why we must be in the Word daily. So many folks feel the Bible is a book of God just telling us what to do, but that is not the right outlook for us to have. In reality God does give us commandments but it is for our own good. He knows what will make us the most fullfilled in life and that is why He gives us the commandments, because He loves us!
So this morning think about your obedience to God, are you being like Moses and doing as the Lord commands?
Tom
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Blessed!
You are blessed! I know I am! Yesterday God blessed me with the best day I ever had bass fishing.
You are blessed! I know I am! Yesterday God blessed me with the best day I ever had bass fishing.
Why? I don't know but I am thankful! Even if I hadn't caught a thing I was blessed just to be able to share in His creation and beauty! Never take that for granted!!!
Proverbs 28:20
20 A faithful man will abound with blessings,
But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
I want you to sit back for a moment and wipe all your problems out of your head. Then I want you to think about how blessed you are. If I start naming things off it is overwhelming. Family, friends, roof over my hear, job, food on the table, clothes on my back, great kids, good health, ect, ect, ect. I am blessed! Yeah I have problems but I am blessed. I love this verse above....faithfulness brings blessings! Are you faithful to God both in good times and bad? God even tells us in this verse that if your goal in life is to be rich in things instead of being rich in God punishment will come. Where is your focus this morning? God or the world?
Make sure this morning you are a faithful follower of Christ for that is where all blessings flow! Thank you Jesus for blessings we are so unworthy but yet so greatfull!
Tom
Why? I don't know but I am thankful! Even if I hadn't caught a thing I was blessed just to be able to share in His creation and beauty! Never take that for granted!!!
Proverbs 28:20
20 A faithful man will abound with blessings,
But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
I want you to sit back for a moment and wipe all your problems out of your head. Then I want you to think about how blessed you are. If I start naming things off it is overwhelming. Family, friends, roof over my hear, job, food on the table, clothes on my back, great kids, good health, ect, ect, ect. I am blessed! Yeah I have problems but I am blessed. I love this verse above....faithfulness brings blessings! Are you faithful to God both in good times and bad? God even tells us in this verse that if your goal in life is to be rich in things instead of being rich in God punishment will come. Where is your focus this morning? God or the world?
Make sure this morning you are a faithful follower of Christ for that is where all blessings flow! Thank you Jesus for blessings we are so unworthy but yet so greatfull!
Tom
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)